Food Industry Trend 2017: Getting More Purple Food On Your Plate

It’s been said many times before that eating within the rainbow provides the variety of vitamins and nutrients you need for a healthy diet. While some colors, like green, are common to see on your plate, you may start to see more purple popping up as well. Those dark fruits and veggies are packed with natural health benefits, so it’s no surprise that our nation is gobbling them up. The experts at Whole Foods claimed purple foods will become one of the food industry trends to watch in 2017 and stated online, "The power of purple goes beyond the vibrant color and often indicates nutrient density and antioxidants." So not only are they fun to look at and eat, but they are also good for you!

Check out these purple plants and recipes to get more purple foods on your plate:

Beet Root

Use a Vegetable Spaghetti Maker to make this beautiful Vegan Beet Pesto Pasta dish. Beets are known to help lower blood pressure by improving blood flow so this healthy alternative to pasta is not only pretty on a plate, but also proves you don’t have to sacrifice flavor to get dishes that are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals

Purple Cauliflower

Tired of the regular white cauliflower? Bursting with good-for-you vitamin C, fiber, calcium, potassium and folate, this purple vegetable is sure to spice things up. With plenty of recipe options like cauliflower hummus, soup, and roasted dishes, you can eat it repeatedly without it getting boring. Looking for a meal kids will love? Try these Purple Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes for dinner tonight.

Purple Sweet Potatoes

Want to satisfy your sweet tooth without breaking your diet? Check out this Purple Sweet Potato Pie! Full of antioxidants, vitamin B6, fiber, potassium, iron, and gorgeous color, you can have your pie without the unhealthiness and guilt.

Elderberry

With many known healthy benefits like improving eyesight, boosting immune systems, lowering cholesterol, and improving heart health, it’s not surprising that Elderberries made the list. They can even help shorten the length of your cold! If that sounds good to you, you should check out this quick and tasty little treat: Immune Boosting Elderberry Gummies.

There are limitless possibilities when it comes to purple foods and making easy recipes and healthy snacks. You can get creative with old favorites like eggplant, cabbage, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, plums or you can try your adventurous side and seek out some more unusual flavors like purple corn, asparagus, kohlrabi, beans, figs and currents. Check out our Pinterest Page to stay in the loop of other food industry trends, and to get healthy recipes that will help get the nutrients you need without sacrificing flavor. Have any health tips or healthy dinner ideas you'd like to share? We'd love to hear them!